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So what's new? Today was an interesting day- two new auction items came in the mail today. They are great items too- a $100 gift certificate for dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant at Mohegan Sun and a $100 gift card to dinner at Anthony's Pier 4 Restaurant in Boston, which is a famous place. I was thinking of my envelope blog from a few weeks ago when I picked up the mail today- I was so excited to see the Mohegan Sun envelope, even though it didn't feel thick, I was already thinking there was good news inside it. Then I remembered- hold on! No rejoicing until one actually opens the envelope! But it was good news. I was really happy about the Anthony's Pier 4 donation too, for some reason I hadn't had a good feeling about that one, so it was a happy surprise.

OK, so there were other things going on today. I was at a fire department north of Boston doing our first donation of stuffed animals. It went really well, the Chief took such an interest in our work and I always love talking about Project Smile, so it was great. I mentioned that I was heading to Malden afterwards and the Chief was heading out as well, so he had me follow him towards Malden so I didn't get lost. I don't think he was even heading in that direction. Funny thing was, I was following him through a rotary and somehow managed to take the wrong turn, even though all I had to do was follow his red truck! It was not my brightest moment and I don't even know how it happened. The nice thing was that he turned around and came back for me. It is wonderful how pleasant and helpful people can be- that really made my day (even though I did feel a little dopey).

I did a nursing home donation in Malden with a group of local Bank of America employees. The Malden office did a collection for us last year and this year which worked out great. Last year, we donated to the Malden Fire Deparment. This year, they came along to participate in donating stuffed animals to the nursing home. It went well, but it was still sad. Even though it is sad to be there, it was remarkable to see how some of the ladies react to the stuffed animals. Some of them hold them like babies and cuddle them. One lady asked me what my name was, so she could name the stuffed animal after me (it was a beanie baby ballerina). I do know it makes a difference for the residents, and even though I still feel sad, I think I'm starting to cope with it better. One room was particularly difficult, because the old ladies were in an almost comatose state- it was awful to see, truly awful. The nursing home director had talked about how most of the residents had hardly any visitors. I know I keep talking about the same stuff with the nursing homes and I'm sorry for the repeatition, but even though I'm adjusting to it, visiting these nursing homes is difficult. I still can't erase that almost guilty feeling when I walk outside and breath fresh air, hurry to my car and drive away. Even though there is little else I can do, it just feels so wrong to see people in that situation and I feel so incredibly grateful for all that I have- particularly my health and energy (even though I need more).

OK, well enough on the nursing homes. I still have more work to do on that grant- it is going overnight mail tomorrow, so the end is quite near. I need to do a little editing and put the rest of the packet together, it shouldn't be too time consuming. What's on the agenda for tomorrow? Finishing grant, auction items, police/fire, anniversary sponsors- the usual stuff- and winning the lotto! Off to write my list for tomorrow, the bed. I went to bed at 2am last night, so I can't do the too late nights in a row without feeling it. Until next time friends..